Monday, July 02, 2012

Thunderbolt

As an aviation enthusiast, I rushed outside this morning when I heard the unmistakable whisper of General Electric jet engines approaching my home in St Mildred's Bay. What I saw, caused a brief double-take on my part, two USAF Thunderbolt A10's (Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II) passing along the seafront at low level.

Apparently, they were doing what's called the 'Dover Tour' for visiting USAF airforce pilots, from Lakenheath, I assume and Manston Air Traffic told me that more were expected at 3pm. Keep your camera to hand if you want to see a very unusual visitor, more often seen causing considerable grief to the Taleban in Afghanistan, where I assume they have returned from on rotation.

I suppose it could always be one political party or another calling in close air support for Westgate's by-election this week or perhaps they were searching for TIG's mysterious Mr Fox!

I was supposed to be flying a romantic message up at Birmingham this afternoon but yet another biblical rainstorm is heading towards the Midlands and I have no intention of finding myself in the middle of it when it arrives. The P&O extravagenza for tomorrow morning isn't looking that optimistic either with fog forecast along the south coast.